Textile reed or comb



March 13, 1928.

H. TITMAS TEXTILE REED OR COMB Filed Feb. 5, 1926 Patented Mar. 13, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT ornca' TEXTILE REED OR COMB.

Application filed February This invention relates to improvements in reeds or combs for use in looms, Slashers or other textile machines. The improvement is particularly adapted to silk looms in which the silk threads have a rapld wearing effect on the dents or teeth of the reed or comb.

One object of the improvement is to provide a reed or comb in which the dents or teeth are removable in sections or as units to provide for replacement of the broken or worn dents with new ones.

Another object of the improvement 1s to provide for the removal and replacement of the dent sections or units conveniently and expeditiously without withdrawing all of the yarns from the reed and without requiring the use of tools or other implements to take the reed apart.

Further objects of the improvement are set forth in the following specification which describes a preferred embodiment of the invention-as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. In the draw ngs:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my 1mproved reed or comb;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the reed taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustratmg the construction of the dent sections or units; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional perspective view showing in detail the method of securing the dents in the reed frame.

;5 My improved reed or comb may embody any usual'arrangement of the dents or teeth in a suitable frame, and Fig. 1 illustrates the frame 2 as constructed from metal strips or bars connected together at their ends. As

0 here shown the upper and lower frame members 3 and 4 comprise opposite parallel strips 5 and 6 which are soldered or otherwise fastened at their ends to single upright bars or strips 7. The space intervening between the parallel strips 5 and 6 is of a width to adapt it to receive the vertical dents or teeth 10 of the reed which are arranged in parallel spaced-apart relation therealong.

Referring particularly to Fig. 4, the means for spacing the dents in the frame, to provide openings therebetween through which the yarns draw, may be of any suitable construction and, as here shown, consists of spirally wound wires 11, similar to hellcal a, 1926. Serial No. 85,705.

springs, which are arranged with their con- 66 volutious disposed between adjacent dents. Two half-round rods 12 are laid along the frame 2 below the upper frame member 3, and a. similar pair above the bottom member 4;, with the flat sides of the rods abutting the edges of the dents 10. The springs or coiled wires 11 enclose the rods 12 with their coils or convolutions passing in order between the successive dents. To bind the parts together and amalgamate them'in a single whole, solder is flowed into the interstices between the dents 10 where they seat 'in the space between the side strips 5 and 6, and also between the coils of the wires 11 so that in the final structure the element are substantially integral.

In reeds of the above-described type, and also in reeds and combs of other structure, it' is usually necessary to melt the solder or to cut the dents apart to remove a section of Worn .or broken teeth, and in some cases the whole frame must be taken apart. Where the reeds are employed for preparing warps for weaving or in the weaving itself it has been the common experience that the end dents of the reed are subjected to the most wear, as the selvage yarns are usually coarser and harder so that they have a greater abrasive action on the dents. With some fabrics the coarser and harder yarns may occur in groups at intervals across the warp and at these points the dents of the reed are frequently cut or broken, rendering the whole reed unfit for service until the damaged dents are replaced. Likewise, when the warp contains silk threads at different points these wear or cut into the dents sooner than the softer yarns. To repair the reed it is necessary to withdraw or cut the warp therefrom and this entails delay and the extra, labor of drawing in the warp again after the reed is reconditioned. Furthermore, the cost of the repairs is considerable when the frame of the reed must be taken apart. It is therefore the principal object 100 of the present invention to provide a reed or comb in which single dents or sections of the dents may be withdrawn and replaced with new ones without disturbing the main part of the warp, and without melting or cutting the solder or otherwise mutilating or taking apart the reed frame.

With this end in view my improvement contemplates a construction of reed or comb having individual section or units of dents in any suitable number which may be withdrawn from the frame without loosening or disturbing the other dents, and which may be replaced with sections having the dents spaced differently to provide wider openings between the dents if required.

As a convenient and preferred method of carrying out this improvement I employ a reed of the general construction as above described with the dents soldered or otherwise permanently fastened into the frame throughout the greater length thereof, but with spaces left for the insertion of the replacement dents between groups of the permanent dents. In Fig. l, which illustrates one end of the reed only, there are two detachable dent units 15 and 16 adjacent this end, but the number and arrangement of the replaceable sections may be varied as required. Usually, the detachable sections are provided at the extreme ends of the reed where the selvage yarns are drawn through, but to adapt the reed for use for weaving narrower goods there may be several replaceable units at each end of the reed; and in other instances there may be replaceable sections at different points along the whole reed.

Fig. 3 illustrates one suitable construction of the dent section or unit, the flat strips or wires 17 formin the dents being bent or folded back on tiemselves at their ends to form a spacing medium between the adjacent dents. IVhen the dents are assembled in alinement as illustrated at the right in Fig. 3, their folded or bent over portions 18 will abut to space apart the sides of the dents, and the whole series of dents are usually soldered, welded or otherwise secured together in this arrangement to form an integral unit. If desired, however, the dents may remain unattached to constitute individual replacement units.

In assembling the fixed dents 10 in the main part of the frame 2, the half-round rods 12 are left continuous from one end of the reed to the other, but the spiral separator wires 11 are cut away at the points when the removable dent sections are to be inserted. Likewise, at these points the spaces between the side strips 5 and 6 of the frame members 3 and 4 are left open and free of solder so that the dent sections 15 and 16 may be slid down through the top the reed to seat their lower ends in the bottom frame member 4.

Any suitable means may be employed for holding the individual replacement dents or dent sections in place in the reed frame, and preferably I provide a spring detent device which operates automatically to lock the dents in position as they are slid into place. As illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the

dents 17 of the removable sections 15 may be scored or grooved along their edges at top and bottom, and preferably the grooves 19 and 20 are on opposite edges of the dents for a purpose as will later appear. On the inner (lat face of one of the longitudinal tie or brace rods 12, preferably at the bottom of the frame 2, I form or attach a spline or key 2i, preferably of rounded contour, which is adapted to spring into one of the grooves 20 in the edges of the dents. The inherent resilient tendency of the bars 12 provide for their springing back to allow the dents to slide past the key 21 until the latter registers with the groove 20, and as the key engages with the groove it ell'ectually locks the dents in place, while allowing for their removal under manual pressure. By placing the top and bottom grooves 19 and 20 on opposite edges of the dents I provide for reversing them in position so that if the dents become worn at one side of their medial portions they may be turned over in the frame to present an unworn portion to the yarns drawing through the reed.

It will be observed that the present improvement provides a reed or comb in which the dents may be removed and replaced individually or in sections without cutting, mutilating or taking apart the frame, and without requiring the use of tools or other implements. The worn dents may be slipped out of the reed frame very conveniently and expeditiously by simply sliding them up through the slots or openings in the upper frame member without disturbing the yarns drawing through the reed. To replace the worn dents it is equally simple and convenient to slide in a section of new dents either as separate elements or connected in units as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the detent means acting automatically to lock the dents in place to prevent their accidental dislodgement from the frame.

It is to be understood that while I have herein illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, the construction and arrangement of the device may be varied'at will without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore without limiting myself in this respect,

I claim:

1. A reed or comb comprising a frame having separate groups of dents permanently fixed therein at spaced intervals therealong and provided with openings between the groups of fixed dents for the insertion of other dent elements to adapt them to be withdrawn for repair or replacement.

2. A reed or comb comprising a frame having opposite members with separate groups of dents extending therebetween and permanently fixed therein, said frame provided with slotted openings in its opposite members extending longitudinally between the groups of fixed dents, and sections of removable dents held in said 0 enings to adapt them to be removed an replaced with new dents.

3. A reed 0r comb comprising a frame having separate groups of dents fixedly held therein and provided with openings in its opposite members extending longitudinally between the groups of fixed dents, sections of removable dents fitted to said openings in the frame members, and means for locking the removable dents in place in the frame to adapt them to be removed for re pair or replacement.

4. A reed or comb comprising a frame having opposite members with separate groups of fixed dents extending therebetween, openings extending longitudinally of the opposite members between the roups of fixed dents, sections of removable ents'held in said openings, and resilient detent means adapted to engage the dents to automatically lock them in place in the frame while permitting their removal for repair or replacement.

5. A reed or comb comprising a frame having openings in its opposite members dents held in said openings and provide with grooves in their edges, and resilientlyacting means adapted to engage the rooves in the dents to lock the latter in p ace in the frame while providing for their convenient removal for repair or replacement.

6. A reed or comb comprising a frame having opposite members formed of parallel spaced-apart bars, stationary dents extending between the frame members and fastened in the space between the bars thereof, sections of removable dents slidable between the bars of the frame members to insert them into cooperative relation with the fixed dents, and automatically operated means for releasably holding the removable dents in place in the frame.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HARRY TITMAS. 

